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Universal Music Pays Largest Payola Settlement to Date

In the largest settlement yet in New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer’s payola investigations, the Universal Music Group, the largest music company in the world, has agreed to pay $12 million to settle claims that execs paid radio programmers to play its music, writes The New York Times.

In similar settlements last year, Warner Music Group paid $5 million and Sony BMG Music Entertainment paid $10 million. In addition to Spitzer’s current investigations concerning foul practices of top record corporations, the FCC recently launched formal investigations into alleged pay-for-play practices by Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom and Citadel.